Air conditioning



Dec. 2o, 193s. LA w, CHILD I 2,140,829

AIR CONDITIONING Filed June 1, 193e- 7 sheets-snaai 2 204V A x 4Z PT* g4 36 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS LA CHL/:NW CH/LD Det. 2o, 193s. L; w CHILD 2,140,829

AIR CONDITIONING Filedl June l, 1936 '7 Sheets-Sheet '4 INVENTOR. LA cf-/LAN l/V. CH/LD ATTORNEYS Dec. 20, 1938. w. CHILD AIR CONDITIONING '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June l, 1956 /omh, mwN

INVENTOR. LA CHL AN W CH/LD ATTORNEYS.

Dec. 20, 1933. w CHlLD 2,140,829

AIR CONDITIONING Filed June l, 1956 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR. Ack/LAN W CE1-ULD BY W-M ATTORNEYS Dec. 20, 1938. l.. w. cH|LD K 2,140,829

AIR CONDITIONING Filed June l, 1936 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 J INVENTOR.

LA CHL/1N M CH/LD i? BY mmwm ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 20, 1938 UNITED STATES 21,140,829 Am CONDITIONING ALachlan W. Child, South Bend, Ind., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Air Devices Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a, corporation of Delaware Application June 1, 1936, Serial No. 82,849

9 Claims.

This invention relates to air conditioning, and is herein described in connection with the cooling of relatively large rooms, suchl as a salesroom in a department store, by a series of floor-supported cooling units. The application is a continuation in part of my application Serial No. 32,256 which has matured into Patent No. 2,069,- 816, datedy February 9, 1937.

One feature of the invention relates to facilitating the cooling of high-ceiling rooms, such as these salesrooms, by providing a stratum of cooled and dehumidified, or .otherwise conditioned, air in the lower levels of the room, up to a height somewhat greater than the height of the occupants (i. e., up to about eight feet from the floor), Without undertaking the relatively great cost and complication of treating all the air in the room.

Such stratiilcation of the air is brought about i Another feature of the invention relates to the construction and arrangement of the flxtures used in conditioning the air," andespecially in mounting on the upper end of a floor-supported pedestal a novel mechanism for cooling the air and blowing it horizontally outward in all ldirections, and in carrying vertically therefrom through the pedestal connections for circulating 40 refrigerant fluid and for carrying off moisture condensed from the air being cooled.

The xture may also be provided with lighting means having electrical connections extending through the pedestal.

The above and other objects and features 'of the invention, including various novel arrangements and desirable particular constructions, will be -apparent from-the following description of l the illustrative embodiments shown in the ac- 5o companying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a horizontal section, on the line I-l of Figure 2, showing in plan one oor of a department store;

Figure 2 is a vertical section therethrough on the line 2 2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a View, partly in side elevation and partly broken away in vertical section, of one of the floor-supported xtures;

Figure 4 is a similar View of a fixture having means for introducing fresh outside air;

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5 5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a side elevation, partly broken away at one side, of a fixture provided with lighting means;

Figures 7 and 8 are respectively 'an elevation and a plan View of a fixture formed to be mounted on the Wall of the room;

Figure 9 is a vvertical section through another form of floor-supported fixture;

Figure 10 is a view, partly in side elevation and partly broken away in vertical section, of a different form of floor-supported fixture; y

Figure 10a, is a partial vertical section showing the fixture of Figure 10 modified to have its air intake at the top of the unit;

Figure 11 is a diagram showing the connections to a number of fixtures from a compressor unit arranged in the basement; andy Figure 12 is a diagram of conduit connections for introducing fresh outside air through a number of fixtures.

The air conditioning fixture illustrated in Figure 3 comprises a hollow vertical pedestal I0 supported by (and shown bolted to) the iloor of a room, there being an opening through the floor in line with the pedestal through which the refrigerant connections pass. Refrigerant such as cold water Orbrine is circulated to and from the cooling means through conduits I2 and I4 which pass vertically through the pedestal Ill.

The upper end of the pedestal supports, about seven or eight feet from the floor, an upwardlydished deflector built up of a bottom member I6 formed withiair intake openings covered by grilles I8, and a flared annular sheet metal part secured to the edge of the bottom member IIS.l A series of posts 22, threaded at both ends to receive attaching nuts, is mounted on the bottom member I6 and supports above the deilector a plate 24 which is smaller than the part 20 and cooperates therewith to define an annular mouth for discharging horizontally (or at a slight angle upwardly) in all directions thev air cooled in the xture.

' 50 The plate 24 also carries, suspended atits center, a vertically-arranged motor 26, whose arma-v through the annular mouth just described. The electrical connections 30 for the motor pass downwardly throughthe pedestal l0. The central part of the blower 28 is in the form of an upwardly-dished disk 32 surrounding the lower part of the motor 26, adding to the compactness of the assembly.

The air circulated by the fan or blower 28 passes over a cooling coil 34, through which the cold water or brine is continuously circulated, and which is preferably arranged annularly around the outside of the blower 28. An annular drip pan 36 arranged below the coil 34 collects moisture condensed by the coil from the air being cooled, and is provided with a suitable drain conduit passing downwardly through the pedestal I0.

Figures 4 and 5 show a construction differing from that just described, in that it has a pedestal H0 of somewhat larger diameter, which receives fresh outside air from a duct 38 arranged below the floor, to be mixed with room air to be recirculated and which is received through grilled openings H8. The fixture is provided with adjustable shutters 40 controlling the amounts of fresh air and room air. Above the shutters ls removably mounted a lter 42. The pedestal H0 may if desired have at its center a guide-tube Ill for the refrigerant conduits and drain tube and the electrical connections.

Figure 6 illustrates a movable xture, having a flaring base 2|,0 and which can be moved around to a limited extent, the refrigerant conduits and drain tube being provided with flexible extensions which, with the electrical connections, are carried out from the lower part of the base as a flexible connecting assembly 2I2.

This gure also illustrates how the part 220 of the air deector may be made of translucent glass, and electric bulbs 44 'mounted in the fixture with'their electrical connections extending through the pedestal 2|0, sov that the xture also serves as a semiindirect lighting fixture.

Figures 7 and 8 illustrate how the fixture may be modified to mount it on the wall, the upper plate 324 and the bottom part 3l6 being. shown as integral extensions from a bracket 3I0 adapted to be mounted on the wall, and the flared part 320 being cut olf at the wall side. In this case. the refrigerant conduits and the drain tube and electrical connections of course pass into. and down through the wall.

In Figure 9 there is shown a fixture in which a compressed liquid refrigerant from a remote compressor unit (not shown) is led through a` room air enters through an annular 'filter' 4|8 held by an apertured stamping 4| 9 secured to the bottom member 4|6, the room air'beingY controlled by an annular shutter 44| also having a ysuitable operating handle (not shown). The electrical connections 430 in this case pass directly to the motor 426 whichl actuatesthecentrifugal fan 436. 'I

In this arrangement, the cooled air passes directly horizontally outward between lower and upper at plates 420 and 423, the latter being secured to and forming an extension of the upper member 424 carried by the posts 22. In this iigure the drain tube 435 of the drip pan 436 is shown extending down vthrough the guide tube 4H.

The temperature of the gasied refrigerant returning through the conduit 4l4 is preferably maintained high enough to prevent sweating, by

mounting a thermostatic bulb 50 a sufficient dis-v tancefrom the end of coil 434 to assure that the refrigerant gas will be warmed to above the temperature causing sweating before leaving the coil.

The head formed by the cooling mechanism is in` this embodiment vertically adjustable, the bottom member 4|6 being secured to the top of the pedestal 4l0 by bolt-and-slot fastenings 52. l

The embodiment of Figure 10 is much like that of Figure 9, and corresponding parts are indicated by the same reference characters increased by 100. In this case, however, the motor 526 is supported by a bracket 524 on the upper end of the pedestal 5IU, andthe central part 532 of the blower 528 is above the motor, and cooperates with an annular stationary plate 523 carried by the posts 22.

Figure 10a, illustrates the ilxture of Figure 10 m'odied so that the room air is taken in from the top through a filter 542 supported over the center of the annular plate 523 previously mentioned, the part 532a of the blower being changed in shape accordingly -This form of intake can of course also be used with the fixtures previously described.

One important feature of the invention relates to the use of a series of fixtures, such as those described above, in cooling a large room having a relatively high ceiling, as for example the main salesroom of a department store. In the past it has been necessary. to cool all the air in such a room, if the room is to be cooled at all. I reduce the cost very greatly by causing a stratication of the air, and cooling only the air below a level a short distance above the heads of the occupants, leaving untreated all of the air between that level and the ceiling, or more than half of the air in the room.

As one such arrangement, Figures 1 and 2 illustrate two floors of a department store. The street floor salesroom is indicated at 6|) and the second floor salesroom at 62, with connecting stairways 64 and a mezzanine or balcony 66. The floor 68 of the second floor of course forms the ceiling of the first oor, and is shown supported on spaced pillars 10.

Various articles 'l2 of furniture, such as showcases and banks of shelves and the like, are distributed inthe usual manner over the sales oors. These articles aid materially in stratifying the air, since they break up the space and prevent the circulation of convection currents which would interfere with the desired slow settling of Y cold air from the second to the rst floor.

The heads of all of the xtures 14, 16, and 18 on each floor are at substantially the same height, at a level above the heads of the occupants and above the furniture 12, or a level about seven to nine feet from the floor. As each of the fixtures is discharging cold air horizontally in all directions, this results in a blanket of cold air at this level, which settles slowly toward the floor.`

The warmed air is displaced upwardly to the intakes of the fixtures 14-16-18, and (especially if fresh outside air is mixed with the recirculated air) into the space between the cold air blanket and the ceiling of the room.

Figure 11 illustrates the connections in or below the oor and leading to the fixtures 14 and 16. In this case the fixtures are f the type using a liquid refrigerant gasified through expansion valves into the cooling coils. The return lines 80 all lead to a compressor 82 in the basement, shown as belted to and driven by a motor 84. The compressed refrigerant is then cooled and liquefied in a water cooled condenser coil 86, and then collects in an accumulator 88, from which it passes through conduits 9U to the expansion valves in the xtures 14 and 16. The various condensate drains all empty into conduits 92 emptying into the drain 94 of the plumbing system.

Figure 12 illustrates how the fresh air ducts 38 may be supplied from a main air supply pipe 96 fed by a motor-driven blower 98.

While various illustrative constructions have been described in detail, it is not my intention to limit the scope of .the invention by that description, or otherwise than by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. That method of air-conditioning a room having a high ceiling which comprises directing horizontally in all directions from substantially uniformly distributed points at the same level, just above the heads of the occupants of the room and well below the ceiling, cooled air which settles gradually toward the floor without noticeable air currents and which displaces warm air below said level and forces it upwardly, part of said cooled air being recirculated room air and part being cooled fresh air from outside of the room.

2. An air conditioning xture comprising a pedestal constructed and arranged to rest on the iioor of a room, a head at the upper end of the pedestal comprising a cooling coil and means for circulating air over the coil and generally horizontally outward in all directions from the axis of the pedestal and having means below the cooling coil for collecting moisture condensed from the air by said coil, and connections passing vertically through the pedestal for circulating re-f frigerant fluid to and from said coil and for removing condensate from said'collecting means, and means formed and arranged to supply fresh outside air from below said pedestal to be passed upward through said pedestal and mixed with room air recirculated by said circulating means.

3. An air conditioning xture comprising a pedestal constructed and arranged to rest on the floor of a room, a head at the upper end of the pedestal comprising a cooling coil and means for circulating air over the coil and generally horizontally outward in all directions from the axis of the pedestal, and connections passing vertically through the pedestal for circulating refrigerant fluid to and from said coil, and means being formed and arranged below said pedestal to supply fresh outside air through said pedestal to be mixed with room air recirculated by said circulating means.

4. An air conditioning fixture comprising a pedestal constructed and arranged to rest on the floor of a room, an upwardly-facing air deflector mounted on the upper end of the pedestal, a horizontal member carried by the pedestal and mounted above and within the outline of said deector and with the edge of the deflector dening an annular mouth directed at an angle slightly above a horizontal plane, air cooling means between said member and the deector, and means for directing air over the air cooling means and out through said mouth.

5. An air conditioning ixture comprising a pedestal constructed and arranged to rest on the floor of a room, an upwardly-facing air deiiector mounted on' the upper end of the pedestal and having an air intake opening arranged adjacent the pedestal, a horizontal member carried by the pedestal and mounted above and within the outline of said deflector and with the edge of the delector defining an annular mouth, air cooling means between said air intake opening and said mouth andV between said member and the deflector, and means for directing air from the air intake opening over the air cooling means and out through said mouth.

6. An air conditioning xture comprising a pedestal constructed and arranged to rest on the` oor of a room, an upwardly-facing air deector mounted on the upper end of the pedestal, a horizontal member carried by the pedestal and mounted above and within the outline of said deflector and with the edge of the deflector dening an annular mouth directed at an angle slightly above a horizontal plane, air cooling means between said member and the deflector, and means for directing air overthe air cooling means and out through said mouth, said xture being provided with an intake for room air to be recirculated by said air-directing means.

7. An air conditioning fixture comprising a pedestal constructed and arranged to rest on the floor of a room, an upwardly-facing air deflector mounted on the upper end of the pedestal, a horlzontal member carried by the pedestal and mounted above and Within the outline of said deflector and with the edge of the deector defning an annular mouth directed at an angle slightly above a horizontalplane, air cooling means between said member and the delector, and means for directing air over the air cooling means and out through said mouth, said iixture being provided with an intake for room air to be recirculated by said air-directing means and said pedestal being provided with means for supplying fresh outside air and mixing it with the recirculated room air.

8. An air conditioning fixture comprising a pedestal constructed and arranged to Arest on the 'Floor of a room, a head at the upper end of the pedestal comprising a cooling coil and means for circulating air over the coil and generally horizontally outward in all directions from the axis of the pedestal, and connections passing vertically through the pedestal for circulating refrigerant fluid to and from said coil, said head being provided with an intake for room air to be recirculated by said air-directing means and said pedestal being provided with means for supplying lfresh outside air and mixing it with the recirculated room air. l

9. An air cooling xture comprising an upwardly-dished member having a support extended at one side in the form of a bracket adapted to be secured to the wall of a room, a plate mounted above and in the mouth of said member and with the edge of said member dening an annular mouth except on the side of said bracket, air-cooling means between said member and plate, and means for circulating air over the cooling means and outwardly through said mouth.

LACHLAN W. CI-IELD. 

